Wine

FEATURED ARTICLES ABOUT WINE - PAGE 2

Selection: Bonterra Chardonnay is an organic wine, produced from grapes grown in California's Mendocino County. It's a lush, smooth, easy-to-like wine with pure fruit flavor. It's a great value for the price. Serve with: Seafood, chicken and pasta with cream sauce. Availability/suggested retail: Sold in food and wine stores for $14 a bottle.

The usual Saturday night wine and golf fundraiser at the PGA's Allianz Championship in Boca Raton is moving out from under a tent to the 18th green and will be earlier in the day this year. The third annual "Grapes on the Green Golf & Wine Experience" is set for 3 to 6 p.m. Feb.11, the tournament just announced. The 2012 Allianz Championship is Feb. 6 to 12 at the Old Course at Broken Sound. [Spectators are admitted for free but there are packages for skybox seating.] The wine tasting will take place in a private area between the 18th green and the driving range during the second round of play.

If your are like most cooks, you are going to have quite a few Thanksgiving leftovers. ( Turkey sandwiches anyone?) The trick is to make those remnants of the feast into something interesting, and one way to dress them up without hurting your budget is to serve them with good but reasonably priced wines. If the choice is turkey sandwiches slathered with mayonnaise, consider a chardonnay such as the 2006 Six Prong Chardonnay , the 2009 Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay or the Wild Hare Chardonnay . These modestly priced whites are easy to like and can turn a basic sandwich into something special.

From the same state that brought you the United States Constitution and my mother, get ready for the wine vending machine. For those of you who live in Pennsylvania (and if so, thanks for finding this lowly Florida-based blog), you know that you can't buy wine in a supermarket. The problem has been solved with a combination of legal creativity and impressive robotics. It will be interesting to see if this technology branches out elsewhere. I could go on and on about the details, or you can watch this shiny, pretty video.

ABC Fine Wine & Spirits is hosting a wine tasting night on Wednesday to celebrate the grand opening of its new location at 3355 N. Federal Hwy. The new store replaces the one that used to operate about a mile away also on North Federal Highway, ABC said. More than 100 different wines will be available at the Wednesday event, which kicks off at 6 p.m. and goes on till 8 p.m. A grand opening party will also be held May 4 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. ABC says it will award prizes to social media users who are present at the events and talking about them via Twitter or Facebook.

Aaron the High Priest is told by God in this week's portion not to drink wine before officiating in the Tabernacle. (Leviticus 10:9) Rashi explains the prohibition to mean that the priest "[may not drink] wine to such an extent that it has an intoxicating effect. " Indeed, an opinion in the Talmud maintains that one has violated this prohibition only by drinking intoxicating wine of at least a re'vi'it — approximately 4-6 fluid ounces. (Keritut 13b) In such a state Rambam adds the priests could go astray by entertaining some improper thoughts or by becoming unclear and erring in a matter of law. In moderation, however, drinking is permissible.

The world of wine has lost one of its guides. Joseph Schagrin, a liquor store magnate who earned national acclaim as a wine connoisseur, died Tuesday of congestive heart failure at his Fort Lauderdale home. He was 87. Mr. Schagrin was a powerhouse in the wine world, leading tours to vineyards across the globe and hosting wine-tasting lectures in South Florida and nationwide. If you had a query about wine, he was the man to see, whether you were an experienced private collector or a housewife who wanted to know whether to serve red or white with dinner.

Wine: It may not be a very well-known varietal, but Chapellet's 1997 Dry Chenin Blanc deserves all the attention it can get. It's a delicious, off-dry sipping wine, the kind of white that can make the hottest day seem pretty nice. Serve with: It's a perfect match for tuna salad, cold sausages and cold lobster with mayonnaise. Suggested retail/availability: Some supermarkets and most wine shops will carry this great summer refresher for about $11 a bottle. Have a question about wine? Write to Wine, Sun-Sentinel, 200 E. Las Olas Blvd.